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A river runs through the entire homeToday's luxury homes feature lazy rivers, reef aquariums and water slides.
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McMansion makeundersThe rich makes homes appear modest by burrowing below.
The anti-ski houseMany homeowners shun the traditional chalet for a modern alternative.
Off-the-grid mansionsThese often-spectacular homes are self-sustaining.
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Inside a real-life spy lairThe world's foremost collector of spy memorabilia shows off his house.
The kitchen that ate the houseAs floor plans open, food-prep areas are creeping into other rooms.
Urban, super-modern glass housesThese homes let in lots of light, plus curious looks from passers-by.
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
© David Papazian for The Wall Street Journal
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Peek inside a modern Portland home
By Nancy Keates of The Wall Street Journal
Intel executive Bryan Deaner asked Portland, Ore., architect Daniel Kaven of William Kaven Architecture to design him a house that would symbolize his personal redefinition following a divorce. He wanted a house that would represent "a new beginning envisioned through the conception, calculus and habitation of new space," he says.
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Masculine feel
Kaven and his partner, Trevor William Lewis, designed the four-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom, 2,500-square-foot metal-and-glass house with an urban, masculine feel.
Built on a 50-by-100-foot lot that Deaner bought in 2008 for $195,000, the house was finished in 2010 for about $450,000. Shown here is the study.
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Wrapping around a courtyard
The C-shaped home wraps around a central courtyard. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls face the courtyard, allowing a view from the kitchen, shown here, and dining area to the master bedroom on the courtyard's other side. Connecting the spaces is an office, which also has floor-to-ceiling glass windows.
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Master bedroom
The interior rooms flank the courtyard, progressing from the public -- kitchen, dining and living room -- to semiprivate -- office -- and then hitting the more private master bedroom, shown here.
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Collected works
The rooms are filled with books, artwork and sculptures that Deaner found while traveling.
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Light and dark
Designer Kaven insisted on all-white walls, so Deaner countered with dark floors and gray tiles in the kitchen and master bathroom, at left.
Deaner, at right, says the house accomplished his goals.
"It energized me and my creativity at a time when I needed a positive focus," he says. "It helped me create a new narrative."
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Southwest style
Kaven comes from New Mexico and likes to incorporate courtyards in his designs. The courtyard is intended to be part of the house so that it becomes a living space and not an outdoor space.
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Eames looks
The color scheme of the house is mostly black and white, with a black Eames lounge chair in the office and dozens of white chairs in all the rooms and the courtyard.
Deaner bought them in what he called a two-day "white chair bender" at retailer Design Within Reach.
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